Shang Jing said in a deep voice, "We have lost this war. There is nothing more to say. But if even just one of us remains, if Obscura wishes to swallow us whole, you must still risk everything!"
For the first time during this war, Ba Se directly addressed the Plume Immortals. "This war is over. As long as the Plume Immortals do not instigate another war, Obscura can let this go."
No one from Obscura objected. Letting this go meant releasing the Plume Immortals, but it also meant releasing Obscura. If they truly fought the birds to the death, no one could guarantee who would survive to the end. Moreover, both sides had increased their karmic chains steeply through the course of this war. The Plume Immortals could sleep them away with their Thousand-Autumn Dream, but what about the members of Obscura?
That was another reason why not a single Plume Immortal had died during the battle in Vestigium. Every Obscura member had been holding back, seeking stability and victory rather than slaughter.
When all was said and done, aside from the Keeper of Balance defeating Gao Tian, the greatest achievement of this war belonged to Lu Yin. Whether it was sealing off Gao Tian’s senses or destroying the Plume Immortals' great tree, Lu Yin was the one responsible for both. He had also personally eliminated Ming Yu and Chang Dou from the battlefield, and the fact that Nan Ling had been sealed away by Greater Sancte Green Lotus was also connected to Lu Yin.
By this point, everyone was exhausted. While not much time had passed, they felt more exhausted than from any previous war.
No one said anything more. Shang Jing slowly descended back into the Plume Immortals' tree. Si Qin could not help but ask, "What about Nan Ling? It is not dead but merely sealed."
Shang Jing answered in a terrifyingly calm tone, "Obscura is watching, so we cannot take it away. However, it also will not be easy to kill it. There will be a chance. In the end, humanity will only bind itself in its own cocoon."
Si Qin fell silent. There was one thing it did not say: what if the human civilization handed Nan Ling over to Obscura?
If it could think of that possibility, then so could Ancestor Shang Jing. Since Shang Jing had not said anything about it, there was no need to ask.
"Obscura has started to treat itself as the Nine Ramparts. It truly believes that it can achieve an eternal glory that spans the cosmos, but even the Nine Ramparts fell. Obscura will not be able to endure for much longer either." With that, Shang Jing fell completely asleep.
Bei Qing, Si Qin, Yue Ting, and the other Plume Immortals slowly restrained their auras as gray wisps gathered around them. They all entered their Thousand-Autumn Dream.
Once the birds fell asleep, it showed that they had completely abandoned further battle.
Yue Lu returned. It cast a wary glance at the distant members of Obscura and then also slowly fell asleep within the Thousand-Autumn Dream. This war had begun because of Yue Lu, but the Plume Immortals had suffered badly, and Yue Lu itself had nearly died.
At this point, it had seen part of the truth. Perhaps from the very beginning, the Plume Immortals had been led around by the nose. Yue Lu had been observing the human civilization, only to have half of its body severed by a sword strike from someone from Obscura. It had returned and complained to Nan Ling, hoping to receive the Plume Immortals' protection and obtain revenge. Just as it had hoped, the Plume Immortals had all awakened and gone to war.
Before the war started, Gao Tian had deliberately pretended to still be asleep, luring Obscura into attacking and creating an opportunity to fight their Keeper of Balance alone. That had been Gao Tian's confidence, but the results had proven different.
Looking back, that had also been an opportunity created by the Keeper of Balance. From the very first slash of their sword on to the end of the war, with Gao Tian's life or death unknown, everything had been part of someone else's scheme.
Gray wisps eventually gathered around Yue Lu. The cosmos seemed to grow smaller and smaller until, in the end, it vanished and the bird fell asleep.
This time, the Plume Immortals had admitted defeat.
Only after Lu Yin personally saw the Thousand-Autumn Dream of the birds sleeping in the crown of their great tree was he finally able to breathe a true sigh of relief.
Beside him, Ba Se's voice came from a small gate. "The Plume Immortals have suffered grievous losses this time and will not start another war in the near future. Obscura's promise to protect your human civilization for 2,000 years will not change."
Lu Yin looked into the distance. Protect us for two thousand years?
That was indeed true.
If Obscura had not intervened this time, his human civilization would have certainly been destroyed. They were absolutely incapable of enduring an assault from the Plume Immortals.
But why had the Plume Immortals attacked his human civilization? It was possible that it was related to the fact that Lu Yin had captured Ming Yu and destroyed their tree. If that was the reason for the attack, then humanity had essentially been dragged into war by Obscura. However, Lu Yin then thought of Yue Lu.
When the war had begun, Yue Lu had not been at either the Plume Immortals' great tree or in Vestigium. Instead, it had appeared at the Human Trio. Why? Could it have always been watching the Trio?
If that was true, then the Plume Immortals' attack on the human megaverses might not have had any connection to this war at all. It was even possible that the trigger for this war had come from Yue Lu.
Lu Yin exhaled. Whatever the reason, this war was over. The Plume Immortals had not even managed to take the Crimson Lotus Tomb, but had instead left Nan Ling trapped, effectively handing the bird over to the enemy. This war had indeed dealt the birds a severe blow.
"How many Plume Immortals remain?" Lu Yin asked.
Ba Se replied, "Aside from Gao Tian, whose life and death are unknown, and Nan Ling, who is sealed away, there are still seven."
Lu Yin frowned. Seven... They will be very difficult to deal with.
At first, he had assumed there were only the Ten Plumes, which did not include Shang Jing. Each additional Plume Immortal made the birds even harder to handle, let alone one as powerful as Shang Jing.
Although three Plume Immortals had been removed from the equation, more than half of the remaining Plume Immortals were two-law Immortals, while Shang Jing in particular was simply unfathomable.
Lu Yin very much wanted to use this opportunity to destroy the Plume Immortals, but he also knew that it was impossible. Obscura had allowed the Plume Immortals to fall asleep, ending the war. That was because they also did not wish to keep fighting. Lu Yin had no way to restart this war.
Also, the human civilization also could not endure another assault from the Plume Immortals.
He teleported away. It was time to return and deal with the aftermath.
Back where Lu Yin had just been, Ba Se's gate also disappeared. From this war, Obscura had gained a much clearer understanding of Lu Yin. While he was not an Immortal being, his strength was terrifying and great enough for him to stand as an equal to any other Obscura member.
...